Marian takes a jury seat for the Creative Belgium Awards 2020

Even in challenging times, it’s important to take a moment and shine a light on the hard work of Belgian talent, so when one of our team members, Marian, got invited for the 2020 edition of the Creative Belgium Awards, she packed her most fashionable face mask, some hand sanitiser and made the trip to Fosbury and Sons in Brussels, where the jury met to evaluate the entries.

Marian’s two cents about her experience that day

“Two years ago Hans got invited to act as a jury member of the CBA, so I was already a bit prepared about what my day would look like. But nonetheless an interesting experience to be a part of!

Apart from observing 52 projects and rating them, this jury also proved to be a moment to reflect upon what design is and how it can be perceived differently by different parties. What I as a graphic designer felt (and surely shared with some other colleagues present), was that there’s still a big gap between design in advertising and design in well, design agencies that don’t focus on advertising (branding studio, branding agency, creative agency, multidisciplinary creative agency, design studios, other terms anyone?)

This led to some interesting discussions between all jury members, who were chosen because of their different approach to design. Even for me it was not always easy to discern a good idea from a good design. A strong idea and execution with big viral followings or media attention doesn’t necessarily mean it has a strong design at its core.

I think everyone involved felt that if these discussions would have been held before the beginning of a jury, maybe the outcome would have been different. Changing your opinion after someone expressed their perception, is what insightful discussions are about and what made this jury an interesting experience for me.

That being said, that day was above all an affirmation that Belgium does indeed have some very talented people making original creative work 😻.”

Keep an eye out for the shortlists and winners! TBA on 4 September 2020.